'Anti-farmer, pro-corporate': New Maharashtra Congress chief targets BJP government; plans state-wide march

The plight of farmers in Maharashtra under the BJP-led government has become increasingly worse, with no guarantee of fair prices for agricultural produce, said Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Harshvardhan Sapkal. 

Despite promises of farm loan waivers during elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena government has yet to fulfil its commitment, leading the Congress to announce a statewide agitation on March 3, the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly's budget session. 

Additionally, urban development projects and essential public services have stalled, prompting Congress to hold protests in municipal areas on March 4 to highlight the administration’s failures. 

A meeting of state Congress leaders was held at Tilak Bhavan, where discussions centred on pressing public grievances and the party’s upcoming protest schedule. A Sadbhavana Padyatra will be held in Beed district on March 8-9. The meeting also addressed strengthening the party organisation across the state. 

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sapkal accused the BJP government of being anti-farmer and pro-corporate. He pointed out that farmers are being forced to sell soybeans at ₹4,000 per quintal, significantly below the minimum support price (MSP), and that crops such as onion, gram, and cotton have also been affected by low prices.

He also criticised the central government’s decision to import tur dal from Australia, arguing that this move would harm domestic farmers by reducing market prices for their produce. 

Given the deteriorating conditions for farmers, the Congress will hold protests at district headquarters across Maharashtra on March 3, aiming to pressure the government into taking immediate action. 

Maharashtra has not held local body elections for the past three years, leading to a governance vacuum in municipal corporations and local councils. Sapkal alleged that the BJP is deliberately delaying elections to retain control over the administration. He accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of trying to concentrate all power in his hands, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to do the same at the national level. As a result, local representatives such as corporators have no decision-making authority, and municipal administration has come under the influence of ministers and MLAs, leading to rampant mismanagement. To protest against this, Congress will stage a protest in municipal areas on March 4 to draw the government's attention to public grievances, Sapkal stated.

Responding to journalists' questions, Harshvardhan Sapkal said that while the Chief Minister granted a clean chit to 106 individuals for appointments as ministers' PAs and PSs, 16 individuals were denied appointments on the grounds of being "fixers." He demanded that the Chief Minister publicly disclose the names of these 16 fixers, as well as the names of the ministers they worked under. He asserted that merely targeting officials would not suffice—action must also be taken against the fixer ministers. 

Sapkal further stated that public services have come to a standstill, and administrative inaction has left people frustrated. This desperation even led a young man to attempt suicide at Mantralaya. He criticised the administration’s apathy, alleging that revenue department officials are engaging in illegal parties at private resorts while governance remains in disarray. "Officials are reckless, and ministers are indifferent," he remarked.